Reservoir for food waste recycling appliance

ABSTRACT

The disclosure relates to a liquid reservoir for a food waste recycling appliance. The liquid reservoir includes a reservoir body with a hollow interior and having an exterior surface bounding an interstitial space. A food waste through opening can pass through the interstitial space. The reservoir body can also include a channel on the exterior surface.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/520,452, filed Jul. 24, 2019, now allowed, which is a continuation ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/337,430, filed Oct. 28, 2016, nowU.S. Pat. No. 10,400,204, issued Sep. 3, 2019, both of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

Food waste recycling appliances are known to implement a food recyclingcycle for biologically and chemically decomposing organic material intohomemade fertilizer for use as a fertilizer and soil amendment. The foodrecycling cycle can be implemented in a bin by providing water, heat andaeration to the food waste, and can require a period of time forcompletion. During this period of time, water can condense in theappliance and be collected in a reservoir. Odors may also exist withinthe reservoir.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In one aspect, the disclosure relates to a liquid reservoir for a foodwaste recycling appliance that generates liquid during a recyclingoperation. The liquid reservoir includes a reservoir body having ahollow interior, the reservoir body having an exterior surface boundingan interstitial space, a food waste through opening passing through theinterstitial space, an aperture in the exterior surface of the reservoirbody and fluidly coupled to the hollow interior; and a liquid channel onthe exterior surface of the reservoir body fluidly coupling the apertureto the food waste through opening.

In another aspect, the disclosure relates to a food waste recyclingappliance that generates liquid during a recycling operation. The foodwaste recycling appliance includes a liquid reservoir with a reservoirbody having a hollow interior, the reservoir body having an exteriorsurface bounding an interstitial space, a food waste through openingpassing through the interstitial space, an aperture in the exteriorsurface of the reservoir body and fluidly coupled to the hollowinterior, and a liquid channel on the exterior surface of the reservoirbody fluidly coupling the aperture to the food waste through opening.The food waste recycling appliance also includes a food waste containerdisposed below the food waste through opening and the liquid channel,whereby liquid flowing along the liquid channel is directed into thefood waste container.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a schematic isometric view of a food waste recyclingappliance.

FIG. 2 is an isometric view of a liquid reservoir in the food wasterecycling appliance of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the liquid reservoir of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the liquid reservoir of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a front view of the liquid reservoir of FIG. 2.

FIG. 6 is an isometric sectional view of the liquid reservoir of FIG. 2taken along the line 6-6.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic view of a food waste recycling appliance100 for transforming organic material into homemade fertilizer by way ofa food recycling cycle of operation. While a “food waste recyclingappliance” is described, embodiments of the invention can be equallyapplicable for similar devices, such as composters or food recyclers orbiological waste digesters. The food waste recycling appliance 100 caninclude a liquid reservoir 10 in accord with the invention, and anoutput bin 50 typically disposed beneath the liquid reservoir 10.

FIG. 2 illustrates an isometric view of the liquid reservoir 10 in thefood waste recycling appliance 100 of FIG. 1. The liquid reservoir 10comprises a hollow, generally U-shaped body 12 having a first armportion 14 joined to a second arm portion 16 by a web portion 18.Together, the arm portions 14, 16 and web portion 18 define an opening20. The opening 20 is located so as to be above the output bin 50 in thefood waste recycling appliance 100, and dimensioned to enable productsfrom other mechanisms in the food waste recycling appliance 100 to passthrough to the output bin 50. A liquid and air inlet 22 can be providedat a distal end of the first arm portion 14 and can be connected to asource of liquid in the appliance 100. In addition, an air inlet 24 canbe provided near the distal end of the first arm portion 14, and an airoutlet 26 can be provided near the distal end of the second arm portion16. Further, the portions 14, 16, 18 can have a contiguous bottom wall32, and a drain outlet 30 can be disposed on the bottom wall 32 near ajunction of the web portion 18 and one of the first or second armportions 14, 16. The drain outlet 30 may be open and unrestricted, or itpreferably has a valve or the like to independently control the flow ofliquid therethrough. The reservoir 10 can also contain a plurality oflegs 34 adapted to mount the reservoir to a frame in the food wasterecycling appliance 100. A liquid level sensor 40 can be disposed in thereservoir 10 to measure the level of liquid in the reservoir.Preferably, liquid level sensor 40 is mounted in one of the first orsecond arm portions 14, 16, and may extend through an upper wall toenable connection to a controller (not shown).

Looking now also at the top view of the liquid reservoir 10 in FIG. 3,the distal ends of the first and second arm portions 14, 16 can bejoined by a connecting rib 36. Additionally, the air inlet 24 can bepositioned within a recessed area 38 adjacent to and opening to theconnecting rib 36, as shown. Preferably, the connecting rib 36 is slopedtoward the opening 20.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate a side view and front view, respectively, ofthe liquid reservoir 10. The bottom wall 32 can be sloped relative tothe legs 34 along the length of at least one of the arm portions 16, 18as seen in FIG. 4. The bottom wall 32 can also be sloped relative to thelegs 34 along the width of the web portion 18 as seen in FIG. 5, suchthat the bottom wall 32 can slope in two directions toward the drainoutlet 30.

FIG. 6 illustrates an isometric sectional view of the liquid reservoir10 from FIG. 2 taken along line 6-6. The recessed area 38 can bepositioned adjacent and above the connecting rib 36, and the rib 36 canextend to the opening 20 as shown.

In a standard cycle of operation, liquid generated within the foodrecycling appliance 100 can flow through the liquid/air inlet 22 intothe body 12 of the reservoir 10, downward along the sloped bottom wall32 (FIGS. 4 and 5) toward the drain outlet 30, and then exit thereservoir 10 if or when the drain outlet is open. It can be appreciatedthat the liquid level sensor 40 (FIG. 2) can monitor the amount ofliquid contained in the reservoir 10. In the event of any overflow ofliquid out of the air inlet 24, the liquid can flow along the recessedarea 38 to the connecting rib 36 and then to the opening 20 as shown inFIG. 6. The opening 20 can be disposed above the food waste container 50as shown in FIG. 1 in order to safely collect any overflowing liquidfrom the reservoir 10, and thus any electrical components mounted to theexterior of the reservoir 10 can be protected from exposure to moisture.It can also be appreciated that the connecting rib 36 can provideadditional structural strength to the reservoir 10.

It is contemplated that a driver 28 (FIG. 2), such as a suction fan, canbe connected to the air outlet 26 and cause air to be drawn out of thebody 12 of the liquid reservoir 10. Air can enter the reservoir 10through either or both of the inlets 22 and 24, move within the firstarm portion 14, the web portion 18, and the second arm portion 16, andthen exit the reservoir 10 through the air outlet 26; an exemplary airflow path is shown in FIG. 3. It can be appreciated that the surface ofliquid contained in all portions of the reservoir 10 can be in contactwith this air flow such that any odors present within the liquid andelsewhere inside the reservoir 10 may be removed while the driver 28 isin operation. It is further contemplated that a filter (not shown) maybe positioned within the food waste recycling appliance 100, outside ofthe reservoir 10 and downstream of the driver 28, in order to treat theair flowing out of the reservoir 10. Such treatment may include removalof odors.

The material used for the first and second arm portions 14, 16 and theweb portion 18 may be any material suitable for the environmentalconditions found in a food waste recycling device, such as metal orplastic, and it is contemplated that these portions may be formed ofblow molded plastic. In addition, the legs 34 can support the first andsecond arm portions 14, 16 and the web portion 18 in the food wasterecycling appliance 100. Any suitable attachment method may be used toattach the legs 34 to the interior of the appliance 100, such as screws.

To the extent not already described, the different features andstructures of the various embodiments can be used in combination witheach other as desired. That one feature cannot be illustrated in all ofthe embodiments is not meant to be construed that it cannot be, but isdone for brevity of description. Thus, the various features of thedifferent embodiments can be mixed and matched as desired to form newembodiments, whether or not the new embodiments are expressly described.Combinations or permutations of features described herein are covered bythis disclosure.

This written description uses examples to disclose embodiments of theinvention, and also to enable any person skilled in the art to practiceembodiments of the invention, including making and using any devices orsystems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope ofthe invention is defined by the claims, and can include other examplesthat occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intendedto be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elementsthat do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if theyinclude equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differencesfrom the literal languages of the claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A liquid reservoir for a food waste recyclingappliance that generates liquid during a recycling operation, the liquidreservoir comprising: a reservoir body having a hollow interior, thereservoir body having an exterior surface bounding an interstitialspace; a food waste through opening passing through the interstitialspace; an aperture in the exterior surface of the reservoir body andfluidly coupled to the hollow interior; and a liquid channel on theexterior surface of the reservoir body fluidly coupling the aperture tothe food waste through opening.
 2. The liquid reservoir of claim 1,further comprising a rib connecting a first portion of the reservoirbody to a second portion of the reservoir body, wherein the liquidchannel is at least partially defined by the rib.
 3. The liquidreservoir of claim 2, further comprising a recessed area adjacent therib and configured to direct overflow liquid from the hollow interiortoward the rib and the food waste through opening.
 4. The liquidreservoir of claim 1, wherein the reservoir body further comprises adrain outlet and a contiguous bottom wall that slopes toward the drainoutlet.
 5. The liquid reservoir of claim 1, wherein the aperturecomprises an air inlet fluidly coupled to the hollow interior.
 6. Theliquid reservoir of claim 5, further comprising a liquid inlet, a liquidoutlet, and an air outlet in the reservoir body and each fluidly coupledto the hollow interior.
 7. The liquid reservoir of claim 6, furthercomprising a fan connected to the air outlet and configured to move airfrom the air inlet, through the hollow interior, and to the air outlet.8. The liquid reservoir of claim 1, wherein the reservoir body furthercomprises a generally U-shaped body with a first arm portion, a secondarm portion, and a web portion joining the first and second armportions.
 9. The liquid reservoir of claim 8, wherein the liquid channelcomprises a rib connecting the first arm portion and the second armportion opposite the web portion.
 10. The liquid reservoir of claim 9,wherein the liquid channel further comprises a recessed area adjacentthe aperture and fluidly coupled to the rib.
 11. A food waste recyclingappliance that generates liquid during a recycling operation,comprising: a liquid reservoir, comprising: a reservoir body having ahollow interior, the reservoir body having an exterior surface boundingan interstitial space; a food waste through opening passing through theinterstitial space; an aperture in the exterior surface of the reservoirbody and fluidly coupled to the hollow interior; and a liquid channel onthe exterior surface of the reservoir body fluidly coupling the apertureto the food waste through opening; and a food waste container disposedbelow the food waste through opening and the liquid channel, wherebyliquid flowing along the liquid channel is directed into the food wastecontainer.
 12. The food waste recycling appliance of claim 11 whereinthe liquid reservoir further comprises an air inlet and an air outleteach fluidly coupled to the hollow interior.
 13. The food wasterecycling appliance of claim 12 further comprising a fan connected tothe air outlet and configured to move air from the air inlet through thehollow interior to the air outlet.
 14. The food waste recyclingappliance of claim 13 further comprising a filter downstream of the fanto treat air exiting the hollow interior via the air outlet.
 15. Thefood waste recycling appliance of claim 12 wherein the air inlet isfluidly coupled to the food waste through opening via the liquidchannel.
 16. The food waste recycling appliance of claim 11 wherein thereservoir body further comprises a generally U-shaped body with a firstarm portion, a second arm portion, and a web portion joining the firstand second arm portions.
 17. The food waste recycling appliance of claim16, wherein the liquid channel comprises a rib connecting the first armportion and the second arm portion opposite the web portion.
 18. Thefood waste recycling appliance of claim 17, wherein the liquid channelfurther comprises a recessed area adjacent the aperture and fluidlycoupled to the rib.
 19. The food waste recycling appliance of claim 16further comprising a drain outlet located at a junction of the webportion and one of the first arm portion or the second arm portion. 20.The food waste recycling appliance of claim 11 further comprising aliquid level sensor disposed within the reservoir body.